Marine memorial's cross-country journey ends at Camp Pendleton

DANA POINT – About 20 motorcyclists crowded the entrance of Strand Vista Park on Monday morning, revving their engines in anticipation. The pins on their jackets and the American flags attached to the back of their bikes signaled that this was no ordinary group of bikers.

The members of the Patriot Guard Riders were there to escort a memorial to fallen troops for the final 35 miles of its 3,000-mile journey to Camp Pendleton.

The 5th Marine Regiment Operation Enduring Freedom monument began its trip from Vermont on May 11. It honors 89 members of the 5th Marines and related units who died while serving in Afghanistan.

The 7-foot-by-8-foot, 7-ton granite monument, fabricated by Rock of Ages in Graniteville, Vt., was installed later Monday morning at the base's 5th Marine Regiment Memorial Garden.

The Patriot Guard Riders were founded by veterans in 2005 to counter protests of military funerals by religious activists, said Steve McRoberts, regional ride captain for the group. It has evolved to participate in other events honoring fallen and active service members and their families, he said.

"When we found out that these 89 young men were coming back home to Camp Pendleton, it was on," McRoberts said, referring to the names inscribed on the monument (read them at danapoint5thmarines.com/oef#fallen).

The monument has been transported on a flatbed truck by Navy veteran Henry Lafreniere. It arrived in Dana Point on Sunday for an overnight stay.

"It's been an honor," Lafreniere said. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

Members of the Patriot Guard Riders accompanied the monument every mile of its trip, said Alan Wickstrom, a director of the Dana Point 5th Marine Regiment Support Group, which raised money for the $40,000 monument and helped organize Monday's send-off from Strand Vista Park. One group of riders accompanied the monument for 500 miles through Nebraska and Colorado, Wickstrom said.

Ken Meredith, a member of the Patriot Guard Riders for three years, donned a Captain America-style uniform and came from San Marcos to participate in Monday's escort. He said he and his father are military veterans.

"Being able to give back to fallen veterans has been an awesome experience," Meredith said.

At the end of the long campaign, Wickstrom said it is important to remember why the memorial's backers worked so hard for it.

"It's so the fallen will not be forgotten," he said. "Most of the boys who died were not even 20. They gave their life for our freedom."